SURVIVORS
Chapters 71. Nature is Extraordinarily Rich
Doctor Chandra comes out of the hut, followed by Liam who lifts a bowl filled with water that has reddish scars clearing Indra's wounds.
"Indra is aware, the wound is a lot, especially in the chest," explained Dr. Chandra.
Niken wants to go in see the state of Indra. But Dr. Chandra's been arrested.
"He was very sick, so let him rest for a moment" said Chandra's doctor gently.
"Here, I brought some medicine for Indra." Niken showed me a small bowl of brownish water she was carrying.
"Medicine? Who told you to do it?" ask Dr. Chandra to investigate.
"Robert's looking for the material. Laras. Pain relief medication," replied Niken impatiently to enter.
"Alright, give it to him first and then we monitor his condition again." Doctor Chandra gives Niken room to enter. Niken is disappearing fast.
"Where's Robert?" Dr. Chandra saw a strange sight there. Silvia sat on the ground and Robert was not with the others.
"Emmm, Robert was out" Angel replied. Doctor Chandra nodded.
"And you, why sit on the ground? Any issues?" Doctor Chandra approaches Silvia who is still at war with herself.
"Ah, ti. no. There's no." Silvia regained her senses and woke up from her seat with a shy blush. 'How can I sit on the ground like a boy in a tantrum?' thought upset.
Dr. Chandra cleaned her hands at the water shelter. Then sit on the bench. He saw that the wooden table was full of pieces of bark, scattered.
"Hemm, is this the medicine Robert prepared? Why was it left like this?" Dr. Chandra tidied all the pieces of bark into an existing bowl.
"Then did you guys make it?" ask doctor Chandra to Gilang who is sitting on another bench.
"Yups, now we have enough honey and honeycomb stock" said Gilang smiling happily.
"I'm glad to hear that. Our lives will be sweeter later, because Robert and Liam also brought oats back earlier." Doctor Chandra smiled widely.
"Mile, this honeycomb is full of old beehives. Do you still want to spend it?" asked Leon who was moving the honey from the container they were carrying.
"not anymore. It's too sweet to be bitten straight away, my teeth are so sore. Drain it in another container and throw it away if it is free of honey" replied Gilang.
"I've heard of beeswax. I think it's made from honeycomb. And it's commonly made into wax and cosmetic ingredients to moisturize the skin." Doctor Chandra glares and thinks.
"Oh yeah? Can you make candles and cosmetics?" Angel's interested. He had not done the treatment for a long time, his skin became rough and dull.
Doctor Chandra nodded confidently.
"I guess, one of the lipstick ingredients is also that. Or the one for lip care? About like that. But honestly I don't know the process. Try asking Robert later, maybe he knows something."
"Yes, I remember now, aromatherapy candles are also made from beeswax. Okay Leon, once filtered, don't throw it away. We'll find a way to turn it into a candle or something." Baras reminded Leon.
"Sipp, okay." Leon raised his hand and fused his index finger with his thumb to form the letter O towards Laras.
Laras and Angel help Gilang and Leon who are busy removing honey and fill the pottery box with honeycomb that is still intact and surrounded by bees. They followed Robert's instructions not to forget to add some logs as a buffer to the new nest.
After all was done, they together moved him to a pile of rocks near Toni's tomb. The place was ideal because it was quiet, near a flower field and not far from their new cottage. There are 3 honeycombs there. The first made Robert has begun to visit many bees. There seems to be a new queen colony there.
**
Liam receives Chandra's doctor's cue. So he chose to go check the fish and bathe into the river to get out of the way.
"Ehem. Now can you tell me what happened Silvi?"
Doctor Chandra continued Robert's work of breaking the substance even smaller and storing it in a bowl. He patiently waited for Silvia to speak.
"Well, I was wrong" Silvia replied briefly.
"It's good to be aware and admit mistakes. Above the sky there are still clouds, moons and stars. In the wild like this, we have to be open-minded in order to absorb a lot of new science and apply the knowledge we have to support it."
Dr. Chandra observed the medicinal ingredients in his hands.
"If it wasn't for Indra, I wouldn't have known the existence of this drug either. Nature is incredibly rich" he murmured softly.
"How do I solve this with Robert?" ask Silvia.
Doctor Chandra raised his head towards Silvia.
"Leave an apology. It's simple."
Doctor Chandra's warm and friendly smile calms Silvi down. He smiled back. He begins to believe in starting a new, better relationship with Robert after this misunderstanding is resolved.
**
Robert walked across the small river, running further and further away from the cottage. Then find that the water flow is branching. Robert had not known if the river was branching. Previously he thought the water that empties into a small waterfall on the beach came from the direction of the meadow where the horses used to drink.
Robert followed the river he had never driven. Before long Robert heard the sound of water running behind the shade of the trees. The place felt more humid with many water points in the air.
"Is there another waterfall?" robert was curious. Unlike the previous river flow that is shaded by willow trees, this part of the river is overgrown with yellow, orange and red leafed maple trees.
There was a rustling sound of Robert's shoes stepping on the maple leaves that filled the ground. The colors bring beautiful shades to the surroundings. Robert looked at the tree. 'It's big and high. Maybe it is tens or hundreds of years old?' thought amazed.
Passed through a large trunk of maple trees and found low water steps that may not be up to a meter. Looks like steam is coming out from where the water fell.
"It's warm water. Is it a hot spring above?" Robert continued to tread carefully as the ground level was wet from the splashing water and warm steam that gathered there.
Robert approached the water steps and touched the falling water. 'Totally warm' her mind is happy. He was eager to take a bath and soak in the warm water to calm his mind.
He stepped on a large rock to see the source of the warm water. And he was immediately amazed when he found it.
"This is paradise!" robert shouted while jumping happily.
The water source is covered with beautiful maple trees, orange yellow and bright red. The surface of the ground was filled with rocks and fallen maple leaves.
Robert approached the edge of the pool. The water was so clear that the multicolored rocks below could be clearly seen. The pool was not deep, and the warm steam was thin with a hint of a sweet maple scent, spreading all around, and, equipped with reflection of trees on the surface of the water and afternoon sunlight that sneaks between the leaves can give peace of heart.
Not waiting long, Robert took off his shoes and immediately jumped into the pool.
"Aahhh, it's been a long time really not soaking in warm water. It's comfortable." His face smiled happily as he dived a few times and wetted his head.
Slowly remove her clothes in the water and rub to clean the dirt. Then the clothes and trousers were spread just like that on the rocks at the edge of the pool.
Robert swam to the other side of the pool where the water was calm and clear to see the beautiful rocks at its base. He took some of those colorful stones in awe. He selected some other beautiful stones and then kept them in his pocket.
Robert swam leisurely further away from where he had been. That part of the pool was nowhere to be seen from where he entered earlier. In the middle of the pool Robert stopped and looked in disbelief at what was in front of him.
Not far from the edge of the pool in front of him, lined with several red maple stems whose branches are interlocked like a hallway. The hallway looked mysterious.
"Is that a road? Or gates? Seems interesting to investigate," muttered Robert.
Robert then turned around and swam to where he was. Cleaned his body casually. Until he felt that he had enough warm water and wanted to immediately tell the findings to other team members. Robert put back on his wet clothes and prepared to return to the cottage.
***